1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of cooking appliances and, more particularly, to a system for thawing food in an oven cavity of a convection cooking appliance.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The art of cooking is currently undergoing substantial change. It is no longer the norm to have a family member home all day with time to cook and prepare meals. Today, more and more consumers must rush home from work to prepare meals for themselves or for their families. In today's fast paced society, time is of the essence. The luxury of spending time in preparing a meal is becoming less and less affordable.
As such, consumers demand an oven that will prepare a meal in less time than conventional ovens, without sacrificing the quality of the prepared food. In order to meet these demands, manufacturers are combining conventional radiant cooking systems with the rapid cook advantages of convection, microwave and other types of cooking systems. In particular, it is considered that incorporating a forced air convection system capable of performing both convection and standard radiant cooking can enable a business or individual to cook an appetizing meal in a short time period.
Certainly, rapid cooking systems enhance the ability of an individual to prepare a meal in a relatively short period of time. However, time doesn't always permit adequate planning of meals. For this and other reasons, the range of permissible meals is limited. For instance, an individual would typically have to plan ahead if a meal was going to include the use of frozen food items which would need to be thawed prior to serving. Although rapid or other types of cooking appliances can be employed to thaw food, the detriment to food quality has, to date, resulted in food items being preferentially thawed under ambient conditions, such as on a kitchen countertop. Again, the time needed to thaw frozen foods under ambient conditions can limit one's ability to serve a desired meal.
Although there exist cooking appliances which can perform thaw operations, there still exists a need in the art of cooking for an appliance which, in addition to reducing necessary cooking times in general, is configured for rapidly and efficiently thawing food items.